Strange Bedfellows

"Strange Bedfellows—a book about how infections and viruses spread—is incredibly relevant to our time. But it is so much more than that: it’s about desire, it’s about history, it’s about humanity itself. Ina Park reveals the mystery and fascination inherent in STDs and, improbably, she does it while being laugh-out-loud funny."
—Peggy Orenstein, author of the New York Times bestsellers Boys and Sex and Girls and Sex

"Ina Park is a seasoned expert with a finely calibrated sense of the absurd. In other words, she is exactly who you want writing a book about STDs. The science is here, but so too are the stories and people behind it. Park has a mission—to break down the stigma and clear the way for open conversation and wider funding. She's a hero and a hoot!"
—Mary Roach, author of the New York Times bestsellers Bonk and Stiff

"Dr. Ina Park’s passion for her subject is contagious. With gripping stories and the right dose of wit, Strange Bedfellows uncovers the wily world of microbes and reveals the shocking history of sexually transmitted diseases. Plus, Dr. Park is funny. You’ll LOL as she ventures into topics most of us consider TMI. She answers every question you ever had about infections down there and even those you never thought to ask."
—Randi Hutter Epstein MD, MPH, author of Aroused

"With wisdom and wit, passion and dispassion, Park uses case narratives and deep clinical knowledge to inform her readers of the importance of sexually transmitted infections. Rescuing these infections from silence and stigma, she offers clear and effective approaches to prevention and treatment for patients and the public."
—Allan M. Brandt, Kass Professor of the History of Medicine at Harvard University and author of No Magic Bullet

"Strange Bedfellows is so much more than a fresh take on the biggest issues of 2021. It’s joyful and funny . . . Great writing about sex meets readers where they are, and it invites them through the door of evidence-based sex education, into a world where shame simply can’t exist. Park uses science, compassion, humor, diverse stories, and examples of her own shame-free living to take the stigma out of these infections."
—The New York Times

"Fans of witty, meticulously researched chronicles of intriguing popular science topics—think Mary Roach—will devour this fluid mixture of scholarship and levity. A fresh, funny, sex-positive book that effectively destigmatizes sexual disease."
—Kirkus, starred review

"Informative and frank, Park’s account of sex and STDs is ideal both for the curious and for those too embarrassed to ask."
—Publishers Weekly

"A thoughtful, informative account for readers interested in public health and sexual health as well as those with an interest in the history of medicine. Park brings the right amount of care to an often-stigmatized subject."
—Library Journal

"Through intriguing anecdotes, [Park] covers the science behind the treatment and prevention of STIs."
—Scientific American

"Park is a woman with a mission: to destigmatise STIs, while engaging her readers through the fascinating stories she has heard or experienced first-hand during her career, together with her inimitable sense of humour . . . The humour and charm of Strange Bedfellows will surely help to break the cone of awkward silence and shame surrounding the topic among its readers, providing a seemingly unending array of interesting conversation starters for those brave enough to take the first step."
—Lancet

"From HPV (human papillomavirus) to syphilis to HIV to homely old genital herpes, [Strange Bedfellows] probes into every cranny of its many subjects, and Park writes about all of it with a commonizing touch that’s wonderfully inviting."
—Open Letters Review